Hydraulic transmission mechanism



July 9, 1940. v L'. GADDONI HYDRAULIC TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Filed April 30, 1958 Patented July '9, 1940 UNITED STATES APATENT OFFICE t.

5 Claims.

This invention relates to hydraulic mechanisms Ifor transmitting the rotational movement of a drive shaft to a driven shaft to produce variable speeds of the driven shaft.

One object of my invention is to provide a sturdy and simple hydraulic mechanism which will replace the present expensive and complicated mechanical clutch and gear transmission mounted between any gas or oil engine, steam turbine, Diesel or electric motor, or other power mechanism or drive shaft, and a driven or propeller shaft of a motor boat, automobile or any other moving vehicle or any other machine for which a device is necessary to gradually transfer the rotating movement of any power or drive shaft to a driven shaft to rotate and accelerate the latter from stationary position to any desired rotational speed and to the speed of the drive shaft for locked direct drive of the driven shaft,

Other objects of the invention consist in improved means whereby the amount of liquid supply used in the hydraulic clutch or transmission mechanism is not critical, improved means for insuring a continuous supply of liquid at the admission, intake or suction side of a liquid pump or liquid displacing mechanism, improved means for controlling, restricting and cutting off the amount of liquid delivered by the pump mechanism, and improved means for connecting the driven shaft to the driving shaft positively for direct drive after the driven shaft has attained a rotational speed substantially equal to that of the Vdriving shaft.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a top view of the transmission housing with the top cover removed and parts of the end Walls of the housing cut away to expose my improved progressive hydraulic clutch mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig, 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig.A 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l.

For the purpose of disclosing my invention I have deemed it sufficient to illustratefmy improved progressive hydraulic clutch mechanism without specific reference to any specific use to which it may be put other than as a driving connection between a driving shaft and a driven shaft. 'I'he mechanism disclosed may be substituted for the clutch and transmission mechanisms used in any powered vehicle or the like and a reversing mechanism of any character may be employed, if desired, such reversing mechanism preferably being associated with the driven shaft. I will refer to my invention as a hydraulic mechanism and the liquid as oil intending these terms to be regarded as generic. I have shown a driving shaft IIJ and a driven shaft II, the driving shaft I0 being supported at its rear end in a bearing I2 of any suitable construction mounted in an opening in the front Wall of the housing I3 which encloses my transmission mechanism and constitutes a reservoir for the oil supply for the transmission mechanism. Either shaft may be the drive shaft and the opposed ends of the shafts may be supported in bearings disassociated from the housing. The opening for the bearing in the front Wall of the housing may be sufficiently large to permit of the transmission mechanism being inserted and removed from the housing I3 through this opening. 'Ihe housing may be secured in stationary position, not disclosed, on the frame of the machine -in which my transmission mechanism is employed. The bearing I2 may include a circular flange provided with apertures .through which extend screw-bolts I4 threaded into the frontwall of the housing to hold the bearing in place. A sealing washer may be placed between the flange and the outside face of the frontwall of the housing to form an oil tight seal with the opening. The bearing member I2 may, if desired, house a roller bearing, not show n, for the shaft I0.

'I'he front end of the driven shaft I I is supported in the rear wall of the housing by a bearing I5 which may be of the same general construc- 3 tion as the bearing I2 and secured to the rear lWall of the housing. The bearing I5 may also include a roller bearing, not shown.

Mounted on the end of the drive shaft I0 within the housing is a gear I6 preferably mounted 40 in spaced relation to the end of the shaft I0, Which has a bearing in a cylindrical casing` generally designated by the numeral I1 which may be integral with or secured to the driven shaft Il in any suitable manner. The casing I1 may 45 comprise a central cylindrical member I8, a front end member or disk I9 and a rear end member 20, said rear member being provided with said bearing for the end of the drive shaft Iand being shown as integral with the driven shaft II. The central member I8 is provided with a cylindrical opening 2| in which said gear I6 rotates and the front member I9 is provided with an opening in which the driving shaft I0 rotates. The central member I8 is also provided with 55 cylindrical openings 24 and 25 to receive liquid feeding rotary gears 26 and 21 meshing with the gear I6 and preferably mounted on studs 28 and 29 secured in the end member 20. 'I'he members comprising the casing I1 may be secured together by a plurality of bolts'30. The members I8 and 2liA may be integral and the rotary gears may be supported in any suitable manner in the casing I1.

'I'he amount of oil supply in the housing I3 is not critical and the level of the oil may be higher or lower than that indicated in the drawing. The members I8, I9 and 20 are provided with alined voil admission ports 32 and 33 which extend parallel to the common axis ofthe driving and driven shafts and in the case of the two gear construction are located at diametrically opposite sides of said axis as indicated. 'I'hese ports communicate with the openings 2|, 24 and 25 and furnish a supply of oil to the gears I6, 26 and 21. The cylindrical casing I1 is also provided with a plurality of radially extending discharge or delivery ports 35 and 36 which are preferably of graduated sizes as indicated in Fig. 1. These ports are located in the central member I8 and communicate with chambers 31 and 38 which extend through said central member and are in communication with the openings 2|, 24 and^25 in which the gears I6, 24 and 25 rotate.

When the driving shaft I0 is rotated clockwise as indicated in Fig. 2. the gear 26 is rotated counter-clockwise and carries oil from the admission port 32 to the chamber 31 in communication with the delivery ports 35 forcing the oil out through these ports. Certain of the oil is also carried by the gear I6 to the chamber 38 which communicates with the delivery ports 36 forcing the oil out through these ports. The gear 21 rotates counter-clockwise carrying oil from the admission port 33 into the chamber 38 which communicates with the delivery ports 3B. Certain of the oil in the admission port 33 is carried by the gear I6 on the driving shaft into the chamber 31 and forced out through the delivery ports 35.

It will be seen that, as the intake ports extend throughout the length of Ythe cylindrical casing I1 and are parallel with the axis of the casing, centrifugal force acting on the oil due to the rotation of the casing I1 will not be sufficient to interfere with the suction of the oil and that there will be a continuous and suiiicient supply of oil for the oil feeding gears 26 and 21.

When the driving shaft is rotated in the direction indicated in Fig. 2, oil will be drawn in through the admission ports 32 and 33 and delivered through the delivery ports 35 and 36. The delivery ports are of such size that they will not restrict the delivery of oil by the oil feeding gears so that no motion will be comp municated from the shaft I0 to the shaft II while these ports are open.

For theI purpose of causing the shaft II to be driven from the shaft I0 through this mechanism, I have provided a throttling sleeve 40 which is mounted on the casing I1 by means of a key 4I to cause it to rotate with the casing and to permit it to be shifted lengthwise of the casing. 'Ihis sleeve may be operated by means of a lever 42, Fig. 2, removably mounted on a rod 43 supported in the side walls of the housing I3 and which is provided with removable arms 44 and 45 provided with bearing apertures to receive studs on a slip ring. 46 seated in a groove in the sleeve 40. By means of this construction the sleeve 40 may be moved to the right 'oil causes the casing I 1 to be rotated with the driving shaft I Il thereby causing the driving shaft III io drive the driven shaft Il. The speed at which thedriven shaft II is driven depends upon the speed of the driving shaft and upon the position of the sleeve 40. I have found it preferable to employ a plurality of delivery ports 35 and a plurality of delivery ports 36 of graduated sizes as indicated. the construction being such that the larger ports are preferably closed by the first movement of the sleeve 40 and that the smallest ports are closed last.

For the purpose of providing a direct drive between the shafts I 0 and II, I have provided the sleeve 40 with teeth 50 and I have provided a disk-like member 5| which may be mounted on the drive shaft in any suitable manner and which Ais provided with teeth 52, the construction being such that when the smallest delivery ports have been closed, the driven shaftvwill have attained substantially the same speed as the drive shaft, so that the teeth 50 and 52 may be meshed by a further slight movement of `the sleeve 40 to the right to provide a direct drive between the shafts I0 and II.

As disclosed in Fig. 3, the disk 5I is preferably spaced from the end of the casing I1 and is provided with three series of holes 55 to supply oil to the admission ports 32 and 33 at that end of the casing.

While I have disclosed the ends of the driving and driven shaft as being mounted in bearings in the end walls of the transmission housing, it is, of course, obvious that these bearings may not be main bearings of the shaft and that I may employ oil sealing bearings or devices which seal against loss of oil around the shafts. The housing is preferably rigidly connected so as to be non-rotatable and preferably made of such a size that it may contain a large quantity of oil the level of which should always be at least as high as the admission ports 32 and 33 and if desired the housing may be filled with oil in order to provide a large supply of oil which will, of course` remain cooler than if a small supply of oil isl used. If desired also the housing may be provided with radiating fins although this does not appear necessary unless the housing is made relatively small with respect to the transmission mechanism, and the driven shaft is driven over a long period at less speed than the driving shaft. By extending the admission ports in the direction of the axis of the shafts, centrifugal force acting on the oil in these ports due to the rotational movement of the cylindrical casing I1 will not affect the amountof oil supplied to the rotary feeding gears.

I prefer to extend the delivery ports in radial direction and to control the same by a sleeve keyed to the cylindrical casing I1 and to provide the same with teeth which are adapted to engage the teeth of a disk 5I secured to the driving shaft. shortly after the last of the series of delivery ports have been closed at which time the speed of the driven shaft wil be substantially that of the driving shaft. By providing the disk 5I with a series of apertures the adjacent ends of the admission ports 32 and 33 will always have a suflicient supply of oil.

aaoasse ciples of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hydraulic transmission mechanism for communicating movement from a driving shaft to a driven shaft comprising a liquid pump including a cylindrical pump casing connected to one of said shafts, oil feeding gears supported in said casing, a driving gear also supportedin said casing in mesh with said oil feeding gears and connected to said other shaft, said cylindrical casing being provided with admission through.

' ports extending parallel with the casing axis nd radially extending delivery ports, a thrott g sleeve for controlling said delivery ports, surrounding said casing and keyed to said casing for rotation therewithand longitudinal sliding movement thereon, a direct drive member secured to'said other shaft in spaced relation to one end of said cylindrical casing, cooperating interengageable driving means on the opposedv faces of said sleeve and drive member. and means for moving said sleeve to throttle said delivery ports and to operatively connect said sleeve to said drive member upon the closing of said delivery ports.

2. A hydraulic transmission mechanism for communicating movement from a driving shaft topa driven shaft comprising a pump including a` cylindrical casing connected to one of said shafts, oil feeding gears mounted on said casing, and a cooperating gear mounted on the other of said shafts, said cafng being provided with admission ports and delivery ports, said admission ports extending parallel with the casing axis and through at least one end of the casing at points radially inward of an imaginary cylindrical surface generated about the axis of the casing and circumscribing and in contact with said oil feeding gears.

3. The combination with a driving' shaft and a driven shaft, of a liquid pump including a cylindrical pump casing connected to said driven shaft, oil feeding gears supported in said casing. a

driving gear also supported in said casing in.

mesh with said 011 ing provided with admission through ports extending parallel to the casing axis and radially extending delivery ports, a throttling sleeve for controlling said, delivery ports surrounding said casing and keyed to said casing for rotation therewith and longitudinal sliding movement thereon, a direct drive member secured to said driving shaft in spaced relation to one end of said cylindrical casing, cooperating interengageable elements on the opposed faces of said sleeve and drive member, means for moving said sleeve to throttle said delivery ports and to operatively connect said sleeve to said driving member, and a liquid containing housing supporting the ends of said shafts and enclosing; said liquid pump, said liquid pump being spaced from the walls of said' housing.

4. In combination with driving and driven shafts, a hydraulic transmission mechanism including a cylindrical casing connected to one of said shafts and having radially extending ports, liquid displacing elements within said casing cooperating with the other-.of said shafts for forcing liquid through said ports, a sleeve sur. rounding said casing and slidably but non-rotatably connected thereto for regulating the fiow of liquid throughv said ports, a disk secured to said other of said shafts adjacent to one end of said casing, and a cylindrical flange on said disk -with the free edge of which said sleeve cooperates after said ports have been closed to pro- V feeding gears and connected i kto said driving shaft, said cylindrical casing bevide a direct positive driving connection between said shafts.

5. In combination with driving and driven shafts, a hydraulic transmission mechanism including a cylindrical casing. connected to one of said shafts and having radially extending delivery ports and admission ports extending parallel to the casing axis, liquid displacing -eledisk and casing.

LOUIS GADDONI. 

